Bowling score computer and indicator



NOV 1, 1966 o. zr-:NTARRA 3,282,499

BOWLING SCORE COMPUTER AND INDICATOR Filed Feb. l0, 1965 5 4 ATTORNV United States Patent() 3,282,499 BOWLING SCORE COMPUTER AND INDICATOR Oskar Zentarra, 335 Oak St., Glendale, Calif. Filed Feb. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 431,503 s claims. (cl. 23S- 65) This invention relates to recording and computing devices and more particularly to devices for computing bowling scores.

The principal objects of the invention are: to provide a ldevice on which bowling scores can be computed as they are made; to provide a bowling score computing and indicating device which, additionally, includes means 'for indicating the scores by frames; and to provide a device 1in which the foregoing objectives are realized in practice `and which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture, is light in weight, is of a size and shape convenient to carry about yand which is readily operated for its intended purpose.

With the foregoing objectives in View, together with such additional objects and advantages as may subsequent- 1y appear, the invention resides in the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, described, by way of example, in the following specification of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of said specification and in which drawings:

FIG. l is a perspective view of the device constituting a presently preferred embodiment ofthe invention,

FIG. 2 is a front or top plan view with certain of the parts being broken away to show interior construction,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the staggered line 3-3 of FIG. 2, and

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are fragmentary sectional views taken, respectively, in the planes represented by the lines 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a frame of rectangular configuration in plan and of generally thin uniform thickness relative to the plan dimensions thereof. The frame comprises a base 1 and a cover or top plate 2 secured thereto at the corners by any appropriate means as, for example, screws 3. Formed in the upper face of the base is a Wide circular groove 4 of only slightly less diameter than the diameter of the base. Mounted for rotation in said groove and guided by engagement with the' outer side wall thereof is the primary counting ring 5 which is of somewhat less lthickness than the depth of the groove 4. The upper surface 6 of this ring is provided with a circularly spaced series of numbers running from O to 99 which, as the ring is rotated, are observable at the right hand side of an opening 7 in the top plate 2 as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2. The inner diameter of the ring comprises at the surface thereof contacting the bottom -of the groove 4 a 10D-tooth internal gear 8 with the teeth thereof disposed in predetermined relation to the numbers on the surface 6 of the ring. The pitch diameter of this gear is somewhat less than the inner diameter of the surface 6 for a reason which will subsequently become apparent and the width of the teeth of this gear are preferably of less than about one-half of the thickness of the ring except for the tooth 9, which is disposed opposite the number 99 on the surface 6 and which has a tooth length only slightly less than the total thickness of the ring.

Disposed in a shallow circular recess 10 in the upper face of the base 1 and engaging the teeth of the gear S at a point 90 clockwise from the opening 7 as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the operating gear 11 which is only as thick as the gear teeth 8 and on which on the lower face thereof is provided with a short, integrally formed hub 12 which is journaled in a shallow circular recess 13 in 3,282,499 Patented Nov. 1, 1966 Athe center of said recess 10 for the gear 11. This gear is provided with 31 teeth for a reason presently to be described. The gear 11 is provided at its upper face with an upwardly extending integral hub 14 which extends through and is journaled in a hole 15 in the top plate 2 disposed at the center of a shallow circular recess 16 formed in said top plate and said hub terminatesin a reduced diameter end 17 engaged by the counterbore 18 on the under face of the operating disk 19 secured to said end of said hub by a screw 20 which extends through the axial hole 21 in the disk 19 and threadedly engages an axially disposed hole 22 in the outer end of the hub 14, the length of said hub being such as to dispose the operating disk 19 in close proximity to but out of Contact with the bottom surface of the recess 16. The upper face of the operating disk 19 is provided with 3l holes 23 spaced equally around the outer edge of the top surface and disposed in a predetermined fixed relation to the teeth of the gear 11. The top surface of the top member 2 carries a stop member 24 xed thereto which extends over the edge of the recess 16 and which has a notch 25 in one face thereof which is in alignment with the radial position of the holes 23 and the bottom of said notch and the back surface 26 of the stop member are spaced apart a distance which is not greater than the distance between the adjacent sides of two of the holes 23. Assuming that the bottom of the notch 25 represents zero, the top surface of the top plate 2 surrounding the hole is numbered from 1 to 30 in a counterclockwise direction and the notch side of the stop member as at 27, the number 30 being disposed adjacent to the rear face 26 of the stop member `and zero being `assumed to be opposite the bottom of the notch 25. Obviously, placing a manually held pin or other instrumentality in the hole 23 which happens to be opposite the number 30 or any lesser nu-mber, and moving the disk 19 clockwise until the pin is stopped by entering the notch 25 will move the disk and gear 5 a distance of 30 teeth or less. This will effect a corresponding movement of the ring gear 5 in a clockwise direction to the same extent, -30 being the greatest count that can be achieved in any one frame of bowling.

Located adjacent the opening 7 `and in a radial line extending from the center about which thegroove 4 is generated and the center of the opening 7 is the counting means for hundreds, this comprising a disk 28 rotatable in a circular recess 29 formed in the top surface of the base 1 and intersected at one side thereof by the inner diameter of the groove 4 in which the ring gear 5 is contained, said recess constituting a counterbore for a smaller diameter bore 30 in which the lower hub portion 31 of a gear 32 is journaled. The gea-r 32 includes an upper hub 33 which extends through and carries the disk 28 and the upper end of said hub is journaled in a shallow bearing recess 34 formed in the under side of the top plate 2. The disk 28 `is fixed to the gear 32 for rotation therewith and is positioned in close proximity to the under side of the top plate 2 with the edge there- .of extending into the left hand side of the opening 7 in close proximity to the inner periphery of the nurnbered upper surface 6 of the -ring gear 5. The gear 32 is positioned so that the teeth 35 thereof are above the path of travel of the teeth of ythe gear 8 and the ring gear andare engageable only by the tooth 9 of that gear. The gear 32 is provided with 8 teeth and the meshing excursion of the tooth 9 past the gear will impart a quart-er revolution thereto. The disk 28 on the area thereof which is observable through the opening 7 is provided with the numerals 1, 2, and H3 spaced a-part at intervals in a counterclockwise direction, the blank space diametrically opposite the numeral 2 'constituting the zero position. Obviously, as the ring gear 5 is moved through a complete revolution, the full tooth 9 thereof will move the gear 32 and disk 28 through a quarter revolution as the "00 point on the ring gear reaches the window to indicate lthe progress of the count in hundreds.

The under side of the top plate 2 is provided with a series of twelve shallow parallel grooves 36 extending from a point therein :adjacent the end remote from the recess 10 to a line transverse to the length of said slots and tangent -to the nearest side of the hole 15, said grooves each combining with the adjacent face of the base 1 -to form a guideway for one each of twelve indicator slides 37. A transverse slot 38 through the top plate 10 :alfords means of observing indicia on the upper surfaces of the slides and said indicia comprises the numerals from 1 to 9 arranged from bottom to top as viewed in FIG. 2 and above the "9 a single diagonal line to represenst a spare followed by an X to represent a strike. Handles 41 xed to the ends of the slide 37 at the ends thereof adjacent the X and operable through narrow slots 40 afford a means of moving the slides back and forth in their respective grooves.

The use of the device is believed t-o be obvious. At the beginning of a bowling game, the operating disk 12 will have been rotated until the double zero position of the ring gear appears in the opening 7 and the hundreds disk 28 also indicate Zero. Thereafter, as the game progresses, the various slides will be manipulated to indicate the number of pins and, at appropriate times, the operating disk 19 will be rot-ated to count the pins for the frame being counted with the result that at the end of the game, the total score will be indicated in the opening 7.

While the foregoing specification has disclosed a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, such disclosure has been made by way of example and it is not to be inferred Itherefrom that the invention is limited to the precise details of construction so disclosed and it will be understood that the invention includes as well a'll such changes and modifications in the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall come Within the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a bowling score computer and indicator, a frame structure comprising a relatively thin, flat base member and a thin, at cover member overlying and secured to said base member, an enclosed annular raceway formed in said base and enclosed by the juxtaposed face of said cover member, an internally toothed ring gear rotatable in said raceway and guided by engagement with a peripheral wall of said raceway, yan opening in said cover member disposed over said raceway to render a portion of the face of said ring gear which is adjacent to said cover member exposed to view, said :face of said ring gear carrying a series of consecutive numbers equally .spaced thereon and extending from 00 to "99" and 4constituting the units a-nd tens components of the score, means journaled in axially aligned bearing means in said base and cover members and including a gear in constant mesh with the teeth of said ring gear and means disposed externally of said cover member manually operable to effect rotation of said gear with resultant rotation of said ring gear in desired increments of movement of thirty of said numbers or less a second gear journaled in axially members and provided with teeth engageable by one only'of the teeth of said ring gear and having a face Aaligned bearing means carried by said base and cover as the number "00 traverses said opening with resultant shifting of the rotative position of said second gear to indicate the hundreds component of the score.

2. A bowling score computer and indicator as claimed in claim 1 in which the face of `said cover member adjacent to said base member is provided with a series of twelve parallel grooves overlying said raceway; said grooves being enclosed by the adjacent surface of said base member, twelve frame score indicating members disposed one each for sliding movement in each of said grooves, the -faces of said slidable members adjacent to said cover member being provided with numbers and other indi-cia to indicate the score in each frame of the game, separate means projecting through said cover member for separately moving said frame score indicat-v ing lmembers in their respective grooves in which a second opening in said cover member exposes a portion of each of said slidable members to view with resultant display of the scoring of a game by frames.

3. A bowling score computer and indicator as claimed in claim 1 in which said one tooth of said ring is of greater width than the other teeth thereof and in which said hundreds indicating component operating gear is disposed for engagement only by said one wider tooth of said ring gear.

4. A bowling score computer and indicator as claimed in claim 1 in which said manually operable means and said hundreds indicating means each includes a gear component having hub means at each side lthereof and said hubs having bearing engagement with complementary bearing sockets formed in the opposing faces of said base member and said cover member, and in which the hub of lsaid gear of said manually operable means extends through said cover member and carries manually engageable means disposed at the outer face of said cover member for effecting desired increments of rotation of said gear and complementary increments of rotation of said `ring gear.

5. A bowling score computer and indicator as claimed in claim 4 in which said means accessible for manual 'rotation of said gear comprises a disc fixed to the hub of said gear which is journaled in said cover member, the exposed face of said disc having a series of thirty-one equally spaced holes along the peripheral edge thereof, and a stop member overlying the path of said holes and having a width equal to the space between two adjacent ones of said holes, the spacing of said holes and the ratio of said gear with said ring gear being such that movement of said disc and gear through the a-ngular distance between the centers of two of said holes will eect movement of said ring gear -to the extent of one of the numbers thereon.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,223,612 12/1940 Grundlehner 235--65 2,231,409 2 1941 Jermy 235--74 2,445,750 6/ 1948 Swigart 23S-65 2,564,450 8/1951 Rupp 235 -114 RICHARD B. WILKINSON,v Primary Examiner. LOUIS L. oAPoZI, Examiner.y

TERRY I. ANDERSON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A BOWLING SCORE COMPUTER AND INDICATOR, A FRAME STRUCTURE COMPRISING A RELATIVELY THIN, FLAT BASE MEMBER AND A THIN, FLAT COVER MEMBER OVERLYING AND SECURED TO SAID BASE MEMBER, AN ENCLOSED ANNULAR RACEWAY FORMED IN SAID BASE AND ENCLOSED BY THE JUXTAPOSED FACE OF SAID COVER MEMBER, AN INTERNALLY TOOTHED RING GEAR ROTATABLE IN SAID RACEWAY AND GUIDED BY ENGAGEMENT WITH A PERIPHERAL WALL OF SAID RACEWAY, AN OPENING IN SAID COVER MEMBER DISPOSED OVER SAID RACEWAY TO RENDER A PORTION OF THE FACE OF SAID RING GEAR WHICH IS ADJACENT TO SAID COVER MEMBER EXPOSED TO VIEW, SAID FACE OF SAID RING GEAR CARRYING A SERIES OF CONSECUTIVE NUMBERS EQUALLY SPACED THEREON AND EXTENDING FROM "00" TO "99" AND CONSTITUTING THE UNITS AND TENS COMPONENTS OF THE SCORE, MEANS JOURNALED IN AXIALLY ALIGNED BEARING MEANS IN SAID BASE AND COVER MEMBERS AND INCLUDING A GEAR IN CONSTANT MESH WITH THE TEETH OF SAID RING GEAR AND MEANS DISPOSED EXTERNALLY OF SAID COVER MEMBER MANUALLY OPERABLE TO EFFECT ROTATION OF SAID GEAR WITH RESULTANT ROTATION OF SAID RING GEAR IN DESIRED INCREMENTS OF MOVEMENT OF THIRTY OF SAID NUMBERS OR LESS A SECOND GEAR JOURNALLED IN AXIALLY ALIGNED BEARING MEANS CARRIED BY SAID BASE AND COVER MEMBERS AND PROVIDED WITH TEETH ENGAGEABLE BY ONE ONLY OF THE TEETH OF SAID RING GEAR AND HAVING A FACE EXPOSED BY SAID OPENING; SAID SECOND GEAR BEING INTERMITTENTLY OPERATED BY SAID ONE TOOTH OF SAID RING GEAR AS THE NUMBER "00" TRANSVERSES SAID OPENING WITH RESULTANT SHIFTING OF THE ROTATIVE POSITION OF SAID SECOND GEAR TO INDICATE THE HUNDREDS COMPONENT OF THE SCORE. 